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My first Steelers mock of the year

Been wanting to do one in a while, but never got around to it. So here goes. I'll do the first 4 rounds now and then do a full steelers mock later when we get done with the combine and pro days - its really too difficult to say anything after maybe the 3rd round right now. Anyway, here goes:

First Round

Barkevious Mingo, DE/OLB, LSU

This pick makes a lot of sense to me. He has not had a great senior season, but if anything that just proves that he is not a DE, but a 3-4 OLB. The Steelers defense leans heavily on their OLBs, and neither Harrison nor Woodley have played good football for a while. Besides, Harrison might be gone because of his age and high salary. Enter Barkevious Mingo. He might just be the most explosive OLB in the draft this year. Maybe not the most polished, but there is a lot of things to be excited about. He could maybe add a little more weight, but overall I think he could be a player who easily could add some much much needed play-making ability to the Steelers defense. I'm certain the defense will be an overall better unit if we had more pressure from our OLBs and Mingo is the player to provide this for us.

My only issue with him is that he does not play the run very well, nor does he cover. However we have brilliant coaching when it comes to our LBs, and I have no doubt in my mind that he can be taught these things. Either way, there is simply too much pass-rushing ability to turn down here. Its a huge need and Mingo is a good fit.

ALT pick:

Gonna do this for the first round here, because there are many other players who could be the pick here. However, I truly believe that OLB will be the pick unless someone falls. Dion Jordan is another exciting prospect. He is not as flashy as Mingo, but he might be better suited for the Steelers as he has dropped back a lot in his college career already. He can get after the QB as well.

Second round

DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson

Steelers will need a WR sometime in the draft. I doubt that Wallace will be back, but even if he might be, Steelers need another WR to put some pressure on Brown and Sanders. Hopkins makes a lot of sense to me at this point. He might not be as good as Sammy Watkins, but he is a very good WR nevertheless. He runs a beautiful deep route, he can go up on top and come down with the ball, and he has nice hands. And while he might not be Wallace-like fast, he is not slow at all! I'm certain he can be a playmaker for us for years to come.

Third Round

Kwame Geathers, DT, Georgia

We need a DT, that much is obvious. While Hampton picked up his play in the latter part of the season, he is not getting younger. While Steelers have invested picks on this position, none of shown much and I don't see Steelers moving Ziggy Hood inside. Steelers pick up a stout DT in Geathers who can boalster the middle of the defense. He is not a pass-rusher by any means, but that is not what we ask of our NT anyway. He can take up a lot of room and make the necessary tackles.

Fourth Round

Bacarri Rambo, S, Georgia

Let me start out by saying that I honestly doubt he'll be here when we draft. To me, Rambo is the most exciting Safety in this years draft. He is a solid tackler and he has a nose for the football. We need players in the secondary who can catch the football, and Rambo can do that. Now, the reason why I have let him fall is the Burfict effect. He has had character issues. He is not a bad kid, but he made some wrong decisions. Be that as it may, however, he is a first round talent who will fall because of the suspension. For now I'll have us draft him at the fourth, but truly I think we'll have to go after him in the third to have a shot at him. Even so, he is well worth it because he can be a special player if given the right circumstances.

Now I know that most would like us to draft a RB, and I have considered it but I honestly believe we have bigger needs. Our offense actually produced properly when we had a healthy o-line and Big Ben in top gear. Besides, I don't believe any RBs are worthy of the 17th pick, and we have plenty of middle-round talent guys on the roster already. I also realize that we need an ILB, but simply no room for one in this mock. I like Teo a lot, Ogletree not so much. I think both Minter and Skov would be a good matches, but they might not be there when we draft in the second round, and I'm not even sure I like Skov enough to take him in the second, and he will not last to the third thats for sure.

Anyway, fire away.

However much you think you know about football, rest assured that Skip Bayless knows more!

First, let me say, that if we come out of this draft with Mingo, Hopkins, and Rambo i'll do back flips

Unfortunately, I think it's unlikely...

1st Mingo : I think the pick makes a ton of sense. I currently think it is the most likely pick. Good fit, Fills Need, HIGH ceiling, potential to fall to us due to weaker than expected season. GOOD PICK

2nd Hopkins : He's the second best WR in the draft imo. if Mingo and the other 4 pass rushers are gone at #17, I would consider taking him right there. I can't imagine him falling outside the top 32.

3rd Geathers : I don't consider DT a need at all. If one of the elite penetrating DTs slipped in the first round I'd look at it. But with McClendon, Taamu, and now Fangupo... I don't see the need to add another mid round pick to the position... a player not likely to be significantly better than the NTs we have already. So I really don't like this pick.

I like both Justin Hunter and Terrance Williams better than Hopkins right now. Admitted, Hopkins could be better than those and might ultimately end up going in the first round but he will have to have a very good off-season imo. Especially because teams have seen that unless they are AJ Green like talents, good WRs can be found outside of the first round which is why I see Hopkins slide

As for DT, I like McClendon decently enough, but he is not my type of DT. Taamu has shown less than little and is reportedly not in the best standing with our coaches after his Blues Brothers car stunt. I like what Taamu brings to the table if he can get everything together, but he could easily turn out to be a bust in which case we need a DT to pick up the slack. Especially because we very rarely play D-line men in their first year. So Geathers makes sense to me. We get a talented NT who can sit behind Hampton for a year and then start his second year.

I agree that Rambo might not last at all, but again... Character issues will hurt is stock. I was a huge supporter of Burfict and I wanted him in the first round before he went on an idiot-spree. And while I don't think Rambo will hurt his stock as much as Burfict did, he is likely to fall somewhat. I should have mentioned that the picks are made from my assessment of where they rank right now in my book, and Rambo needs a good off-season to get into the second round imo. That said, I would not be against picking him in the second or third round. He is a great talent!

However much you think you know about football, rest assured that Skip Bayless knows more!

I would like all these picks , But I don't think any of the pass rushers slide in the draft ... which is good/bad for us , bad because we need an elite pass rusher, good because that means either Te'o drops or a WR , or Tyler Eifert ... I am coming around to needing to add more offense weapons

There is just so many ways they can go at this point in time... and since the safety is so deep ...